1 A prophecy against Damascus:

“See, Damascus will no longer be a city

but will become a heap of ruins.

2 The cities of Aroer will be deserted

and left to flocks, which will lie down,

with no one to make them afraid.

3 The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,

and royal power from Damascus;

the remnant of Aram will be

like the glory of the Israelites,”

declares the Lord Almighty.

4 “In that day the glory of Jacob will fade;

the fat of his body will waste away.

5 It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,

gathering the grain in their arms—

as when someone gleans heads of grain

in the Valley of Rephaim.

1 The burden of Damascus.

Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city,

And it shall be a ruinous heap.

2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken:

They shall be for flocks,

Which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

3 The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim,

And the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria:

They shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts.

4 And in that day it shall come to pass,

That the glory of Jacob shall be made thin,

And the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.

5 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn,

And reapeth the ears with his arm;

And it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.

1 This message came to me concerning Damascus:

“Look, the city of Damascus will disappear!

It will become a heap of ruins.

2 The towns of Aroer will be deserted.

Flocks will graze in the streets and lie down undisturbed,

with no one to chase them away.

3 The fortified towns of Israel will also be destroyed,

and the royal power of Damascus will end.

All that remains of Syria

will share the fate of Israel’s departed glory,”

declares the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

4 “In that day Israel’s glory will grow dim;

its robust body will waste away.

5 The whole land will look like a grainfield

after the harvesters have gathered the grain.

It will be desolate,

like the fields in the valley of Rephaim after the harvest.

1 The burden against Damascus.

“Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city,

And it will be a ruinous heap.

2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken;

They will be for flocks

Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid.

3 The fortress also will cease from Ephraim,

The kingdom from Damascus,

And the remnant of Syria;

They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,”

Says the Lord of hosts.

4 “In that day it shall come to pass

That the glory of Jacob will wane,

And the fatness of his flesh grow lean.

5 It shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain,

And reaps the heads with his arm;

It shall be as he who gathers heads of grain

In the Valley of Rephaim.

1 This is a message about Damascus:

“The city of Damascus will be destroyed;

only ruins will remain.

2 People will leave the cities of Aroer.

Flocks will wander freely in those empty towns,

and there will be no one to bother them.

3 The strong, walled cities of Israel will be destroyed.

The government in Damascus will end.

Those left alive of Aram will be

like the glory of Israel,” says the Lord All-Powerful.

4 “At that time Israel’s wealth will all be gone.

Israel will be like someone who has lost much weight from sickness.

5 That time will be like the grain harvest in the Valley of Rephaim.

The workers cut the wheat.

Then they cut the heads of grain from the plants

and collect the grain.

1 The burden of Damascus.

Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. 2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. 3 And the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria; they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith Jehovah of hosts.

4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. 5 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the standing grain, and his arm reapeth the ears; yea, it shall be as when one gleaneth ears in the valley of Rephaim.

1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. 2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks; and they shall lie down and there shall be none to make them afraid. 3 The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith Jehovah of hosts. 4 And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall become lean. 5 And it shall be as when the reaper gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; yea, it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.

1 This is the divine revelation about Damascus. 

“Damascus will no longer be a city. 

It will become a pile of rubble. 

2 The cities of Aroer will be deserted. 

These cities will be used for sheep, which will lie down in them. 

There will be no one to disturb those sheep. 

3 Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim, 

and the kingdom will disappear from Damascus. 

The remaining few from Aram will share Israel’s honor,” 

declares the Lord of Armies. 

4 “When that day comes, the honor of Jacob’s people will fade away, 

and they will become skin and bones. 

5 That time will be like harvesting bundles of grain by the armful. 

It will be like gathering grain in the Rephaim Valley. 

1 An oracle against Damascus:

Look, Damascus is no longer a city.

It has become a ruined heap.

2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken;

they will be places for flocks.

They will lie down without fear.

3 The fortress disappears from Ephraim,

and a kingdom from Damascus.

The remnant of Aram will be

like the splendor of the Israelites.

This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.

4 On that day

the splendor of Jacob will fade,

and his healthy body will become emaciated.

5 It will be as if a reaper had gathered standing grain—

his arm harvesting the heads of grain—

and as if one had gleaned heads of grain

in the Valley of Rephaim.

1 An oracle concerning Damascus.

See, Damascus will cease to be a city,

and will become a heap of ruins.

2 Her towns will be deserted forever;

they will be places for flocks,

which will lie down, and no one will make them afraid.

3 The fortress will disappear from Ephraim,

and the kingdom from Damascus;

and the remnant of Aram will be

like the glory of the children of Israel,

says the Lord of hosts.

4 On that day

the glory of Jacob will be brought low,

and the fat of his flesh will grow lean.

5 And it shall be as when reapers gather standing grain

and their arms harvest the ears,

and as when one gleans the ears of grain

in the Valley of Rephaim.

1 An oracle of Damascus:

“Look! Damascus will cease being a city

and will become a heap of ruins.

2 The cities of Aroer will be deserted;

they will be for the flocks,

and they will lie down and no one will frighten them.

3 And the fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,

and the kingdom from Damascus;

and the remnant of Aram will be like the glory of the children of Israel,”

declares Yahweh of hosts.

4 “And this shall happen:

On that day, the glory of Jacob will be brought low,

and the fat of his flesh will become lean.

5 And it shall be as when a reaper gathers standing grain

and he reaps grain with his arm,

and it shall be like one who gathers ears of grain

in the valley of Rephaim.

1 Here is a message the Lord gave me about Damascus. He said,

“Damascus will not be a city anymore.

Instead, all of its buildings will be knocked down.

2 The cities of Aroer will be deserted.

They will be left to the flocks that lie down there.

No one will make them afraid.

3 Ephraim’s people will no longer have cities with high walls around them.

Royal power will disappear from Damascus.

Those who are left alive in Aram

will be like the glory of the people of Israel,”

announces the Lord who rules over all.

4 “In days to come, the glory of Jacob’s people will fade.

Their strength will get weaker and weaker.

5 It will be as when a worker cuts and gathers grain

in the Valley of Rephaim.

He gathers up stalks with his arms.

Only a few heads of grain are left.

1 The oracle concerning Damascus.

“Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city

And will become a fallen ruin.

2 “The cities of Aroer are forsaken;

They will be for flocks to lie down in,

And there will be no one to frighten them.

3 “The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,

And sovereignty from Damascus

And the remnant of Aram;

They will be like the glory of the sons of Israel,”

Declares the Lord of hosts.

4 Now in that day the glory of Jacob will fade,

And the fatness of his flesh will become lean.

5 It will be even like the reaper gathering the standing grain,

As his arm harvests the ears,

Or it will be like one gleaning ears of grain

In the valley of Rephaim.